Pioneer Playhouse Presents Final Play in Popular Kentucky Trilogy!

Pioneer Playhouse of Danville continues its 69th season under the stars with the final installment in the hugely popular “May Hollow” trilogy by Kentucky author, Angela Correll.

Granted, which opens on July 10 and runs through July 21, follows in the footsteps of Grounded, presented in 2015, and Guarded, seen on the historic stage last year.

In Grounded, audiences were introduced to Annie, a young woman who has returned to Kentucky after her jet-setting city life has suddenly crashed. In the first book and play, Annie had to navigate the challenges of dealing with a run-down farm, a fiercely independent grandmother named Beulah, and the reappearance of an old flame named Jake.

In Guarded, we find Annie engaged to Jake and settling into country life, though still experiencing some growing pains. After discovering a cache of old letters in a family farmhouse, Annie stirs things up with Beulah by impulsively travelling to Italy to uncover a family secret that’s been buried since World War 2.

Now in Granted, Annie is finally ready to fully embrace her life in Kentucky and her future with Jake, but wedding plans are complicated by the arrival of her ne’er do well father and by a “pot luck war” waged between Beulah and her feisty neighbor, Betty.

“Angela Correll is a seventh generation Kentuckian, and her love for her home state is so evident in her novels,” says Heather Henson, managing director of Pioneer Playhouse. “We were excited to adapt the first book because we felt the story of home and family and faith would connect with our patrons – and it did, in a big way!Grounded was a huge hit, and so was Guarded. We have no doubt our patrons will want to come full circle and see this heartwarming final, Granted.”

Adapting Granted for the stage was once more a team effort by Robby Henson, Artistic Director of Pioneer Playhouse, and Holly Hepp-Galván, award winning New York City playwright.

“Holly and I worked really well together for Guarded, and it was the same for Granted,” says Robby Henson. “It was absolutely bloodless,” he jokes, “no kicking or screaming. We now have a polished short-hand for telling Angela’s stories.”

“Angela’s characters are so full of heart and humor,” says Hepp-Galván. “She truly understands the dynamics of a family – the challenges and the love. I really enjoyed finishing the stories that we had explored in Guarded, and playing with some unexpected twists and turns.

Audiences will recognize many actors from their Grounded and Guarded roles, including Erika Lee Sengstack as Annie and Patricia Hammond as Beulah and Rita Hight as the nosy neighbor, Betty. New to the May Hollow world, will be Daniel Hall Kuhn, a perennial favorite at Pioneer Playhouse, who steps into the role of Woody, andJohn Dillon, a New York City based actor who will be playing Annie’s soon-to-be-husband, Jake.

Angela Correll

“What I love about adapting Angela’s books for the stage,” says Robby Henson, is her characters are fully realized, full-on Kentucky proud – so the process feels like slipping into a comfortable pair work boots.”

“We see characters we’ve come to know and love, grow and change,” adds Heather Henson, “but don’t worry if you missed Grounded and Guarded. This play stands alone, and any background information from the previous stories is seamlessly weaved into the plot.”

Granted is part of the “Kentucky Voices” annual series of original plays Pioneer Playhouse premiered eleven years ago.

“’Kentucky Voices’” was the brainchild of my sister, Holly, who was artistic director at the time, but who lost her fight with cancer six years ago,” says Heather Henson. “Holly saw ‘Kentucky Voices’ as a way to honor Kentucky authors and Kentucky stories, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for over a decade now.”

“We’re really proud of the fact that we are the only theatre in Kentucky producing one original play each season that celebrates Kentucky history, heritage and culture,” says Robby Henson.

Granted will run July 10- July 22, and author Angela Correll will be on hand for an informal meet and greet with audience members before each show.

Plays are performed nightly, Tuesdays through Saturdays, at 8:30 pm. A home-cooked dinner featuring hickory-smoked BBQ pulled pork or chicken, and farm-fresh sides, is served at 7:30 pm each evening before the show. (Vegetarian option is available if ordered 24 hours in advance.) A bar serving wine, beer and mixed drinks will be open for those 21 and over.

Pioneer Playhouse is located at 840 Stanford Road in Danville, Kentucky. Shows are held outside in a historic amphitheater, but moved indoors in case of rain or extreme heat. For more information and for reservations, please call the box office at 859-236-2747 (local) or 866-KYPLAYS (toll free).